A Very Tribal Christmas
by greenisthecolorofmyenvy
Summary: Every December is the same as every other day, but a certain spark from Darryl turns the ordinary into extraordinary.     It was written for  holiday fanfic competition  for Mall Rat Matt!


Amber watched as her son slept soundly in his crib. His little fists were balled; his lips forming a slight pout. It was December again... the 25th was approaching quickly... already two days away and each time this year Amber couldn't help but feel slightly depressed. Before the virus, her family would hop into their station wagon and drive to the Christmas tree farm to pick the most beautiful tree they could find. Her parents would open the back doors of the car, and Amber and her sister would race to see who could find the best tree. One time, Amber recalled, she'd ran the entire length of the farm to the very end of the last row of evergreens, finding a tall and fat one- the tallest of any of the others. She'd called everyone over so they could also admire it. Dad wasn't sure if he could tie it to the top of the car, but Mom seemed confident that it could most certainly be done. The fact that they'd managed to put it through the front door amazed Amber even now.

All of the old traditions had perished with the adults. She couldn't think of the last time they'd celebrated any holidays. December was just another month in the fight for survival... but for once Amber wished that it could change. Just for one day. She could feel a tear running down her cheek. _It'll never happen... _She thought to herself, touching the little hand of her baby._ I just wish there was some way for him to feel the Christmas spirit like I did when I was young..._

"Is everything alright, Amber?"

Startled, Amber jumped a bit as she turned around. Darryl was standing in the door way. Quickly, she dried her eyes, hoping he didn't notice how wet they were. "Y-yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

He stepped inside, approaching the crib with the sleeping child. He looked down, watching the slight rise and fall of the baby's chest. "He's so precious..." Darryl took note as he looked back into Amber's eyes. She didn't notice how striking they were- blue with flecks of green. "I saw you crying... is something the matter? He's not sick is he?"

Amber shook her head, turning her eyes away from his. "No... he's as healthy as can be." She took a deep breath before continuing. Slowly, her gaze crept back to his. "It's just that... This time every year, I get a little bit down in the dumps. I look at him-" She motioned down towards Bray Junior, "And I see so many things that he'll miss because the old traditions have died. I don't know about you, but Christmas for me means giving and good food and joy." She stood from where she was seated, realizing that a new wave of tears were beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. "I'm being ridiculous. How can we have Christmas in the world today? It's impossible." Quickly, she turned and walked out of the room, afraid that Darryl would see the tear that escaped her eye.

Darryl watched as she left. He'd never seen Amber like this- such a strong woman, so upset over a Holiday. Christmas for Darryl's family wasn't much to brag about. He'd grown up an only child, his only companion a little pony his parents had bought him. Sure, because they'd lived in the hills they'd cut down their own evergreen trees and decorated it with strung popcorn and tinsel... but it always ended up as lonely as the next day. Presents always came in abundance... but what he wouldn't have given for a brother or sister to share the happiness with.

He just couldn't erase the hurt from Amber's eyes from his mind. Obviously this meant a lot to her... he couldn't stand knowing that she was upset. It wasn't right. But how would he make everything alright?

Carefully, he stepped out of the baby's room, closing the door behind him. As he began to walk down the hall, he'd almost ran right into Lex. "Hey, watch it, man."

"Sorry, Lex." Darryl replied, his mind wandering.

"What's going on? I can smell the smoke, obviously you're thinking too hard."

With a deep sigh, he tried really hard to think of his words before he spoke them. He couldn't straight tell Lex that he may have feelings for Amber and would do anything to make her smile again... "There's this... girl." He began, placing his hands in his pockets. Slowly, he began to rock back and forth from the heals to the balls of his feet- a nervous habit of his. "And ever December she gets really upset because it's Christmas, and nobody seems to celebrate it anymore... since the adults died. Well..." He swallowed, watching Lex eye him suspiciously. "I want to make this Christmas not just any ordinary day... I want it to be special for her and the ba-" Darryl quickly shut his mouth, but it was too late. The look on Lex's face told him that he understood.

"You're talking about Amber, right?" He asked, and Darryl just hung his head. This made Lex laugh a bit, but he stopped when he saw the slow, crimson blush across his cheeks. "You have the hots for her, huh? The fiery little blond..." He put his arm around Darryl and began walking towards the cafe with him. "Just so you know, man, the girl can't be tamed. But a little help from the good ol' Lexy charm might actually do the trick."

"So you'll help me?" Darryl asked as he plopped himself down on a chair. He knew Lex was pretty good with the ladies, although not always successful. It wouldn't help to actually hear him out, since Darryl was seriously lacking in that department.

"Of course. Now, you say you want to give her the greatest Christmas ever? Well, here's what I propose you do..."

It had been a day since she'd almost cried in front of Darryl, and Amber made sure to wake herself early in the morning to take a walk. She hadn't been out in fresh air for a very long time- maybe this was why she was so emotional. Before she left, she made sure to place Bray in Trudy's room. The weather outside was crisp- cool for December in New Zealand, but always the same. She'd watched American TV shows where it snowed on Christmas. She knew it would be simply impossible to even wish for snow now. Something inside her just ached for the fluffy white stuff, crunching beneith her boots. How she yearned to stick out her tongue and feel the flakes land and melt within seconds. Or to just fall, carelessly, into a huge pile of it.

She shook her head as she made her way back to the mall. Why was she doing this to herself? It was like torture. Then and there she promised to stop thinking about this Christmas nonsense. Obviously it wasn't going to happen, and just dwelling on everything would make it ten times worse. Tonight, she'd spend a quiet time with her son. The next night she'd treat it like any other day. A nice dinner of tinned beans and maybe some fresh fruits for the baby. Maybe Trudy and Brady would join them, since Trudy was more like family to her than anyone in the mall.

When she walked in, she was surprised to see Ellie and her sister, Alice, standing by the door. She took her bag from over her shoulder, placing it on the ledge of the fountain. "What are the two of you up to?" She asked, suspiciously. She can't remember the last time she was approached by the two of them. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine." Ellie said, a smile on her face. Amber could tell there was something going on, but she wasn't exactly sure. "We wanted to show you something up in the cafe. Jack's built something that he wants to show you." Again, Amber couldn't help feel like the girls were up to something, but she shrugged the feeling off and followed them up the stairs. What she saw up there, she couldn't believe.

"Surprise!" Everyone yelled, throwing fake snow in the air. Amber's eyes glowed with delight. A fake evergreen tree decorated with various odds and ends found around the mall sat in the corner, a yellow metal star on the top. Under the tree were magazine page wrapped gifts with makeshift bows. Various garland hung from the cealing made from green painted newspaper scraps. Each one of the Mallrats was clad in all red, with red tribal markings and santa hats perched on their head. Trudy was holding little Bray, who also had a little santa hat. In front of the group was Darryl, a santa hat in his hands. He held it out to her, a huge smile on his face. Wanting to cry out of joy, Amber reached out for the hat and placed it on her head. For a moment, she couldn't even speak, and as she opened her mouth to thank everyone, Darryl began to speak. "Before you thank us, there's more to this Christmas celebration, and I think you'll enjoy it." He turned to everyone, putting his arms up like a conductor. He snapped his fingers twice, which caused everyone to stand straight. In unison, they began to sing 'Winter Wonderland'. Even Bray clapped his hands to the beat and Brady ting her Triangle when Darryl pointed to her.

When they'd finished, Amber heard a barking from another room. Lottie and Sammie disappeared momentarily, then came back with a black and white spotted puppy. A big red bow was tied around it's neck. "We were going to wait to show you, but we have a new addition to the tribe!" Sammie exclaimed. "Say hello to Sage."

The little puppy ran to Amber. Instantly, she bent over and allowed it to lick her face. She looked up at Darryl. "This is all your doing, then?"

"Yeah... well, I had a little help." He said, shyly, placing his hand out to stand up straight. He slipped his hand in his pocket, grabbing a small red box with a silver bow. "This is just something that I made. It's no big deal. I just wanted to give you something from the heart- **my** heart."

Amber gingerly took the small box. She wished to just stare at the pretty packaging. It had been so long since she'd received a gift, let alone a Christmas gift. She gently pulled the ribbon apart and opened the box. When she saw what was inside, she nearly brimmed over with happiness. "Oh, Darryl..."

"Some of the others helped me try to find something to use for a necklace, and we found these five rings, all different sizes." Darryl said as he watched her eyes glitter at what he'd made. He'd wanted to give her a ring, originally, but what everyone found seemed to not be THE one, the wrong size, or missing gemstones. Instead of just giving one, he strung them together with a piece of leather, making a single necklace for her. He took it out of the box, and instantly she turned around so he could place it on her slender neck. He was so happy she liked it... there was a shred of doubt that she wouldn't.

"Thank you, all of you." Amber told them all, almost ready to cry. She turned her watery eyes to Darryl. "Especially you."

There was much enjoyment that evening. There were extra rations, so they'd prepared plenty of good food to feast on. Each shared tradition that they'd shared before the virus, and there were even some gifts shared. It was everything and more than Amber could have hoped for. Especially when she saw the glow in her son's eyes at the giant red ball Darryl had gifted him.

When everybody's stomachs seemed far too full, one by one they began to head off to bed. Trudy, with Brady passed out in her arms, wished Amber a Merry Christmas, kissed her on the cheek and went to sleep. For a while, she thought she was alone. It felt nice to have quiet after a wonderful evening, her soon sleeping between the nook of her arm and chest. The tree glowing in the corner brought back so many memories... she wondered what her parents were thinking, where ever their souls ended up.

"So, everything was to your favoring?" Darryl asked, surprising her a bit. At her big smile and nod, he knew he'd accomplished his goal. "There is one more thing I wanted to show you, if you want to put Bray to bed."

Quickly, she took her son to the room, placed him in his cradle and covered his little body with a wool blanket. Amber turned to find Darryl in the doorway. "Where to now?" He took a couple steps towards her and pulled out a blindfold. With a raised eyebrow, she put her hands up. "This is hardly my idea of fun..."

He couldn't help but smirk. "I promise it'll be worth your while." As carefully as possible, he placed the blindfold over her eyes and took her shoulders in his hands. Leading her through the doorway, he began to whisper in her ear. "I know I was a day early for Christmas. Santa comes on the 25th... but, Santa worked very hard this year to accomplish this. Santa knows how much you love your son. So, his workers got together and spent an entire evening preparing this special gift for you and your son." He stopped walking when he reached the front of the old Fashion store. He untied the blindfold and let it drop to the ground.

Amber couldn't help but rub her eyes in wonder. The Fashion store which used to be Zandra's looked nothing like it did before. All the furniture had been taken out, leaving open space in the middle of the floor. A small slide and swing set sat in the middle, with little sandbox right next to it. A little piece of the outdoors for inside. The walls were all painted with vibrant colors and geometric shapes. "This is beautiful." Was all Amber could think to say as she took a few more steps inside.

"Ellie and Alice helped with a lot of it. They couldn't wait to show you." Darryl placed his hand in hers. "I know you love the outdoors, and your son does as well. Lately, things aren't safe. So why not bring it inside?"

"I don't even know what to say, or how to thank you." Amber turned towards him, the biggest, most beautiful smile on her face. It almost seemed to Darryl to light up the entire room. With that, he put his hand on her face and kissed her with the passion of a thousand lovers.

After a few moments, Darryl kissed her nose and whispered: "Merry Christmas, Amber."


End file.
